Record rainfalls take toll on wildlife

Lake Monroe was almost 4 feet above the normal summer pool level just as the Fourth of July weekend began. That affects both people and wildlife.

“At this time of year we have been high before,” said Rex Watters, a wildlife specialist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. “But it usually starts earlier than this and then stays up.” That’s the typical result of the spring thaw combined with annual spring rains.

The changes in lake level have affected the vegetation along the shoreline, Watters said. When the water receded in the spring, plants began to germinate. When the waters rose again, it flooded those plants.

“It creates a good situation for fish,” Watters said. The vegetation becomes a source of food and provides escape cover for fish. Watters said the spawn for fish was enhanced by the high water along the shoreline.

But the higher water has caused problems for ground-nesting shorebirds. The birds had already established nests along the shore of the lake and then had them flooded by rising water. That has affected killdeer and other shorebirds. Although most of them will renest, Watters said the first clutch of eggs is usually the most likely to succeed, partially because birds that hatch later have less time to mature before winter.

“Many species will be impacted,” Watters said, “not only along Monroe but along the rivers and other places where the water is depriving them of the habitat they normally have.”